Chronic, incurable diseases affect an estimated 40% of Americans. While some suffer from mild issues they can manage on their own, many conditions profoundly affect the lives of the patients, and they might even be life-threatening if not addressed. For this reason, staying on top of the care such patients receive is crucial. Here at Your Family Medical in Bedford, TX, we offer chronic care management to anyone who struggles with ongoing medical issues.
This system guarantees you a regular appointment with your physician, so you can reevaluate the care you receive and adjust it as your needs change. Care management can have many benefits such as ensuring your safety, reducing stress, and helping you manage several conditions at once. Let’s have a closer look at why it could be a good choice and who can gain the most from signing up.
Why Is Chronic Care Management Crucial?
Even though your condition might be chronic, it isn’t static. Over time, your symptoms might change, which means that the medication and care you receive will need to be updated. Unfortunately, it is often hard to get in touch with your doctor, since they might already have a full schedule for the next few weeks. This is especially true in the current environment, as more pressure has been put on the medical system due to Coronavirus.
When you aren’t able to see your physician regularly, it’s easy for symptoms to get missed and therefore worsen over time. In fact, many chronic issues could be prevented if addressed early. This is one of the main reasons why care management is such a crucial service. It can allow you to stabilize your condition more quickly and reduce the risk of deterioration.
Guaranteed Monthly Monitoring Sessions
Studies have shown that prevention and early intervention are both cheaper and more effective. Thus, you need to be seen by your doctor on a regular basis to avoid the risk of your disease spiraling out of control. By signing up with us, you will gain access to a 20-minute monthly session with our team. During this meeting, we will discuss your chronic conditions, how you felt in the previous month, and whether any of your symptoms have changed.
If so, we might either change your medication, update the care you receive, or invite you to the clinic for additional testing. That way, you are never left alone for long, and changes in your health will be addressed quickly. You will always receive the care you need, no matter how fast your condition changes. As a result, you will remain healthier, avoid complications that could mean an ER visit, and possibly even live longer.
Ensuring Safety
As you can tell, care management is mainly concerned with your safety. Your doctor will regularly revise your care plan and make sure it still meets your needs. In addition to adjusting your medication and treatment, this might include evaluating whether you are still safe in your environment. Many people dealing with multiple or severe chronic conditions still live in their own home.
However, they need assistance, both with their medical care and with day-to-day needs. You might employ a health aide to come visit you on a regular basis. During the monthly meeting, our team can discuss whether the frequency and scope of those visits are still appropriate. What’s more, we will evaluate how safe you are in your own home and what changes might need to be made to create a more accessible, less risky environment.
Reducing Stress and Optimizing Care
Dealing with your conditions can be immensely stressful, both for you and for others in your household. This is especially true if your current care doesn’t meet your needs and you are struggling to function well. Receiving chronic care management can significantly reduce this stress because you will know that you are in good hands. Whenever you have a problem, you can rely on your doctor to address it within a month.
Although the 20-minute meetings are at the core of the program, they are not the only element. If we determine that your needs have changed or your care is no longer appropriate, we will invite you to the clinic and run some tests. Then, we can adjust the medication you receive and suggest further treatments. Many pain management or preventative methods are available right here at our clinic, so you don’t have to be referred to a hospital.
Managing Several Conditions
If you are suffering from a severe chronic condition and feel that a management system could be helpful to you, you should get in touch with us. However, most of the patients currently benefitting from care management struggle with more than one chronic condition. They have varying, sometimes competing needs, which make their care much less straightforward.
Having a regular check-in can be especially important for such patients because there often isn’t a simple care framework laid out for them. Since the conditions they suffer from require different medications, doctors have to be very careful about interference and side-effects. This complicates care and makes the need for ongoing monitoring much more pressing.
Who Can Benefit from This Service?
Chronic conditions come in many shapes and forms, and they affect a huge percentage of the population. Not everyone will need care management, but it can be a great option for certain patients. In particular, those who are homebound and elderly often appreciate the regularity that monthly checkups bring to their lives.
The best way to find out whether this program is right for you is to visit your clinic for an initial appointment. We have several possible treatments for people living with chronic conditions and those who are elderly, and we can take you through the options. After learning more about your general health, the diseases you struggle with, and your desired level of care, we can then make a decision about how to move forward.
Conditions that Require Chronic Care
Now you understand what chronic care management is and why it can be a crucial part of someone’s medical plan, you might wonder who qualifies for this service. There are many chronic conditions out there, and not all require extensive care. However, we will accept any patients who suffer from several incurable diseases that make it difficult for them to function normally.
Some examples of chronic issues are diabetes, heart disease, asthma, arthritis, high blood pressure, sleep apnea, and osteoporosis. There are many degrees to these diseases, so you might not initially need much care. Over time, your condition is likely to become more severe, and you’ll be eligible for care management. We also work with patients suffering from Lupus or Multiple sclerosis, which are lifelong problems that may occur at a younger age.
Homebound or Elderly Patients
Most of the people in our care management program have some trouble functioning normally, and they require a lot of medical care. Although conditions can begin at any stage, they are statistically more likely to develop later in life. For this reason, we work with many elderly patients who have chronic issues but would like to remain in their own home. In fact, we employ specialists in geriatric care, who are attuned to the needs of this age group.
When you’re homebound and have mobility challenges, your situation might remain stable for a long time, or it could change rapidly. Regular check-ins with your physician ensure that you can enjoy a high degree of mobility for as long as possible. Our care management program can give you and your loved ones peace of mind, so you don’t worry about safety issues or the quality of care you receive.
Get the Ongoing Care You Need
Doctors are extremely busy at the moment, and it can be hard to get the care you need. If you don’t have an acute problem, your physician might tell you to hold off visiting them. Chronic care management is different because you are guaranteed a consultation every month, so you never have to deal with long wait times. Even if not much has changed, you get to check in with your doctor and discuss your ongoing care.
Regular appointments can be very beneficial for anyone who struggles with a long-term condition. They help you to stay on top of things and prevent your symptoms from getting worse, since your treatment can be adjusted as soon as your needs change. In addition, you can more easily manage multiple conditions. Call us today at Your Family Medical in Bedford, TX to book your first appointment and get the care you need.
